Daily Mail

HE’S GOING DOWN THE PLUG HOLE

- by ADAM CRAFTON @AdamCrafto­n_

Water torture: United fans booed at full time after another dismal United performanc­e

As Mauricio Pochettino weighed up the mounting injury list that threatens to undermine his side’s champions League ambitions, he fixed his glare and a siege mentality began to form.

‘i am not the victim — not in football and in life,’ insisted Pochettino and this grit rapidly became the dominant thread of an hour in front of the cameras.

in the adjacent dugout at Wembley this evening will sit the man Pochettino once resented but to whom he is now grateful.

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde brought an unceremoni­ous end to Pochettino’s playing career as the manager of Espanyol some 12 years ago and Pochettino returned to this episode to underline his values.

in his book Brave New World, Pochettino reflected: ‘Valverde decided he didn’t want me in the squad for the following season because he felt i controlled the dressing room. in reality, it was completely the opposite.

‘Many people know i was completely loyal to my coaches. in football, there are people who live off confusion and you sometimes don’t know who the good and bad apples are.’

Pochettino subsequent­ly retired and even thanked Valverde for taking the decision out of his hands.

speaking yesterday, Pochettino said: ‘He arrived at Espanyol at not a good time for me. i could not see it at the time. But i can now.

‘in football you are protected by this bubble. Then when somebody shows you the reality it can surprise you.

‘But after that i prepared myself as a coach and this is where i am today. in football and life, situations change very quickly and i never wanted to be a victim.

‘i wanted to be seen as someone who is brave and faces up to challenges. i am now going to face the coach who gave me the opportunit­y to become a coach.’

Pochettino meets Valverde in testing circumstan­ces. His side are on the back foot in their group after the 2-1 defeat by inter Milan a fortnight ago and he approaches a fixture he can barely afford to lose without a string of usual starters.

christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele, Dele alli and Jan Vertonghen are all out. so Pochettino must ask yet more of Harry Kane, while there are decisions to make in midfield, where Victor Wanyama or Harry Winks — perhaps both — will be given major roles.

Pochettino sought to inject belief. ‘i never make excuses if players are injured. That is the easy excuse. i don’t say that because we have injuries i prefer we do not make the effort and let it be 3-0 for Barcelona. We believe that we are going to win, with young players, senior players, i don’t care. Because it’s Tottenham and we need that mentality if we want to win trophies.’

it is, of course, one thing having the mentality, another to defeat Lionel Messi’s Barcelona. These aristocrat­s of the European game have Wembley pedigree, winning the tournament in 1992 and 2011 at the stadium.

Yet Barcelona are in relative crisis, having failed to win in their last three La Liga games.

Pochettino has a plan for Messi. ‘it is simple. We need to stay close to him when he is about to get the ball. if you leave him space in one-on-ones, he’s going to get off his marker. We need one or two players helping each other. We are going to demand sacrifice, ask them to be focused on him.’

For Kane, this will be another signpost fixture in a year in which he has already won the Golden Boot at the World cup.

‘Messi sets the standards,’ said Kane said. ‘He and ronaldo have gone above the norm. When you’re scoring 40, 50, 60 goals a season — as a striker, i want to try to match that.

‘We’ve proved we can beat the best teams. We need to play with energy. it will be a full house, we need to get them on their feet, create some chances and hopefully take them.’

 ?? REUTERS ??
REUTERS
 ?? GETTY IMAGES ?? King cone: Harry Kane trains for tonight’s showdown
GETTY IMAGES King cone: Harry Kane trains for tonight’s showdown
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